They find out what the black balls found on an Australian beach are made of

Published:

Nov 7, 2024 10:02 GMT

Their origin and how they ended up on the shores of Sydney are still unknown.

Specialists from the University of New South Wales have solved the mystery of the black balls washed ashore on several beaches in Sydney (Australia), after finding out that they are not composed of oil, as they believed, but of a mixture of soap residue, cooking oil, other human waste and drugs, inform 9News.

The black balls were found for the first time on October 15 on one of Sydney’s most popular beaches. According to scientists, their origin and how they ended up on the coast of Sydney are still unknown.

“The sticky spheres contained hundreds of different components, including molecules derived from cooking oil and soap scum, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals, steroidal compounds, antihypertensive medicationspesticides and veterinary drugs,” the scientists stated.

Most of the balls were composed of a mixture of fats, oils, calcium and other metals. Other substances were also found, such as human fecal waste and recreational drugs, including tetrahydrocannabinol and methamphetamine.

“They have a absolutely disgusting smell“They smell worse than anything I’ve ever smelled,” said lead researcher Associate Professor Jon Beves. “This was a major analytical challenge, with very complex mixtures containing hundreds to thousands of components,” another researcher explained. William Alexander Donald.”We had a lot of fun analyzing these mysterious balls, using deductive reasoning to trace the likely source back to human waste,” he added.

Randwick City Council initially said that tests it had carried out identified the objects as tar balls, composed of petroleum, most likely from a marine spill. However, they were not right.